Being gluten free [part 3] What can I eat?!

Yes, you can eat chocolate mousse! [more on that later, wow, it was good!]

These blog posts are for people who are new to being gluten free, thinking about going gf, family members of gluten freesias and also gf veterans - I hope you can learn from this or be reminded and encouraged to live an awesome gf life.
Believe it or not I am not the font of all knowledge, I'm just sharing some of the stuff that I have learned and continue to learn. [So forgive me if I miss things out.] I'm going to be hard on you, reader, so just listen and be aware that I am quite a blunt person.

Quinoa, [pronounced kind of like: 'Keen-wah'] is really good for you.

We've already looked at all the stuff you, as a gluten-free person can't eat. After looking at that list, don't you just feel a bit... sad? I do. But the gluten free lifestyle doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. Ok, it is hard, but there is actually heaps of stuff that you can eat. And it's generally healthier than a normal gluten-eating diet too.

Common grains/carbs you can eat:

• All kinds of rice and rice flour
• potatoes, potato flour and starch
• corn, cornflour, polenta or other pure corn products. Maize and corn are synonymous
• All kinds of beans, legumes and bean or pea flours

Not so common grains/carbs:

• Tapioca, tapioca starch or flour
• Quinoa - an ancient Incan grain that is REALLY healthy. It also comes in flakes
• Bean flours: Chickpea [or Channa] flour, soya flour ect
• Buckwheat! Don't let the name deceive you
• Millet
• Amaranth
• Arrowroot

That's a lot of gluten free carbohydrates isn't it?! [Another post about using GF flour will follow this one!] Most of the above can be used to make gluten-free imitations of bread. And imitations of pasta, cakes, bickies and other good things.

Use gluten-free flours to make yummy cupcakes!

But you know what? Life doesn't revolve around bread. At least, it shouldn't when you're gluten-free. In fact the flours that you use [unless you're using brown rice flour] to make GF products don't have any nutrients at all. They're just pure, empty starches. And they don't even make a very good imitation of gluten bread, not really.

Right, that last statement was really depressing wasn't it? So much of most G-free people's time is spent thinking about all the foods that they can't eat, bemoaning the loss of bread and suffering through saw-dusty imitations of bread.
The trick to living an AWESOME, tasty and enjoyable gluten-free life is to think about the food you CAN eat, not the food you can't.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't eat GF bread, no, just don't make it your main staple.

You can eat rice! This is just cooked rice fried up quickly with a few spices - served with poppadoms. Yum!

If you think about it, there are heaps of foods that are naturally gluten free. By that I mean that they didn't originally have gluten in the recipe, like an omelet is naturally gluten free. Concentrate on eating foods that are naturally gluten free, they'll be tasty and enjoyable for both you and your gluten eating family and friends.

Some examples of foods you can eat:

• salad greens
• All fruits and berries
  
• all vegetables [this category is huge!]
• all meats [but watch out for the ingredients in cured, reconstructed meats and sausages.]
• eggs
• chocolate [yay!]
• cheese
• poppadoms [most kinds]
• rice paper wrappers
• ice cream!

That's only a really short list because I don't want to bore you! Open your mind, think of the good things and be glad that there is so much that you can eat.

Some exciting things that you can eat:

GF chicken stock!


Spices! [always check the ingredients of pre-mixed spices though]


Yes, there are instant meals out there that are GF! Check out the Uncle Ben's express rice too.


I recently discovered this masa mix, I still have to experiment with it though - yay! Tortillas!


Look, they're gluten free! [So is the Edmond's Baking Powder]


There are some pretty good GF pastas out there too, phew!


Chickpeas - they're full of goodness and are nice when you're tired of rice.


There are heaps of legumes available, have fun and experiment with them. There is so much potential.


The above was lunch the other day. It was left over mashed potato mixed with egg to make patties. I coated them in some old gf crackers that I had ground up.


For some reason my computer won't let me upload a pic of bread - so here is some GF cookies and cream ice cream! Yes! See how to make it here: part 1, part 2.

Or if you feel tired, of just in need of a sandwich - do it! I like to keep my GF bread for 'special occasions' when I'm feeling blah or there is salmon pate to spread on the toast! Although I am not very faithful at this, I try to keep an ice cream container of bread in the freezer at all times - you never know when you'll need it.



Want inspiration or more GF stuff? Check out the blogs or websites that I've linked to in the top right hand corner.